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10-17-2018, 08:47 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Indianapolis
Posts: 57
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Transporter suggestions?
The TM I just bought (hooray!) is in TX and I need it hauled to IN. Does anyone have a good transporter they've used before?
thx
Kathy
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10-17-2018, 10:26 PM
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#3
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TrailManor Master
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 893
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The world of RV transport is just filled to the brim with fraud. I contacted a number of legitimate-looking companies which I found on the net, only to have several of them attempt to run the same scam on me. Although I asked for a bid for transportation to Berkeley, several of the bids were - upon reading the fine print - for transportation to different locations than I asked, including Bakersfield which is a whole day's drive away from Berkeley. The scam is that they transport the vehicle to their lot, and then bill you at a usurious rate for storage until you can arrange to pick up the vehicle. I had no tow vehicle, so would have been severely ripped off by these guys if I had signed with any of them.
Once you get past that, there are the hard-sell people. One hard-sell is to tell you that they are one of the few companies with a federal or state certification or license. You do not need that to pull a trailer. Another is to tell you about their insurance, which they insist covers you 100%. If you look closely into the terms of their insurance, you will find that it doesn't cover trailers.
I ended up using uShip. The first thing you find out is that uShip's own insurance doesn't cover trailers, but the people who bid on your shipment will trumpet the fact that they have that insurance. You can ignore those who do. Then, you will find a bunch of them attempt to contact you offline. Definitely don't do any business with them. A bunch will ask "what are you willing to spend". Don't ever tell them that. Respond to all of them the same way: "This is an auction, please bid."
I finally found an individual who had some good feedback (don't bother with the ones who have no feedback at all) and who happened to be deadheading my way to do a horse transport job in the other direction. He bid a reasonable price, expecting to make up his gas and expenses. He did a fine job.
I knowingly bore the entire risk of the shipment. If I had paid more for the trailer, I might have spent more on a carrier with legitimate insurance that actually applied to trailers. But I don't think I found any with legitimate insurance who were charging less than half of the price I paid for the trailer. Insurance fraud is really rampant - I once met a mover ("Starving Students Movers") who paid damage claims by a set price per pound of weight of the item damaged. They could say your job was fully insured, but you would not actually get any significant compensation for damage.
The guy that I hired claimed to be an out of work net-maker who was displaced by the big gulf oil spill. He had a small cover on his pickup bed and slept on a mattress in there, and showered at truck stops. I gave him a nice tip, which he did not expect. I would rather help an individual if I can - a lot of established businesses in this space are unsavory.
He is listed as "Joseph F." of "EQUINE MOVERS" on uShip, but I don't think he's near you, and again I got him because he was deadheading to a horse transport job.
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10-18-2018, 07:13 AM
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#4
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Site Team
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
Posts: 10,115
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Great answer, Bruce. Do you have some additional thoughts on the following?
As I recall, one of the other things in the discussions was the difference between a shipper who will tow your trailer, usually behind a pickup, and a shipper who will put your trailer on a flatbed or car-carrier of some kind.
Never having used a transporter of any kind, I can't comment. But I did a household move with an outfit called ABF U-Pack, and got royally scammed and screwed. I don't know if U-Pack is related to uShip in any way, but I will be glad to provide info off-line to anyone who is interested.
Bill
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10-18-2018, 08:15 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Indianapolis
Posts: 57
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Thx for the links!
I ended up making a deal with a great transporter last night on Uship who regularly makes trips to and from TX to northern IN hauling trailers. Fair price, great reputation.
Happy to pay the extra $ to deal with the actual guy who's going to be hauling it instead of a broker's contractors. Although I had a good experience with a broker 3 years ago hauling two vehicles for me, but those were only a few hundred miles away, not a thousand.
Re: Uship, I've hired transporters for a variety of stuff over the past 5 years and, knock on wood, have had no issues.
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10-18-2018, 08:15 PM
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#6
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TrailManor Master
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 893
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill
the difference between a shipper who will tow your trailer, usually behind a pickup, and a shipper who will put your trailer on a flatbed or car-carrier of some kind.
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Flatbeds and car-carriers are good for a few things. They are best for moving most cars, since SUVs with AWD are popular and many these days aren't good to tow for long distances with even two wheels on the ground. They may be big enough to allow the transporter to move two vehicles at once. Including for two separate customers. So, they may clear more for their time and expenses. It's good to move a vehicle that isn't ready to move under it's own power. And it saves your vehicle from some wear and tear.
But there shouldn't really be any problem with towing a Trailmanor a few thousand miles.
Thanks
Bruce
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